Alumni

Dylan Christopher
Email: dschrist@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Dylan received his Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  He plans on becoming a registered dietitian after graduate school.

Jessica Cooper
Graduate Research Assistant
Email: j_coope2@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Jessica received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Jessica’s research interests are “maternal diets impact on breast milk composition” and “breast milk bacterial composition and it’s impacts on infant gut health.”  She is currently assisting Dr. Perrin with an investigation into the amount of fat, lactose, and lactoferrin found in human breast milk.

Autumn Davis
Graduate Research Assistant
Email: ardavis7@uncg.edu

Chloe Dunn  
Dietetic Intern
Email: cadunn2@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Chloe Dunn is a first-year graduate student in the MS/DI program. She is currently working under Professor Hawkins with the current dietetic interns along with being a graduate assistant for NTR 203. She served as the head of the dietary team at Victory Junction and worked in providing allergen-free meals for the campers and staff. She currently teaches strength-based fitness classes at Kaplan and the Greensboro Country Club.   

Kristina El-Khouri, M.S.
Graduate Assistant
Email: k_elkhou@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Kristina is a dietetic intern who completed her Masters in Nutrition at the UNCG, and is currently working through the Post-Baccalaureate Dietetic Internship Program.  Throughout her Masters she worked as a Teaching Assistant for Food Science and completed a thesis focusing on inflammation and brain trace metal biology.  She also completed her Bachelor’s degree at UNCG, with a major in Human Nutrition and Dietetics.  Her hopes for the future are to complete the Dietetic Internship and to work as a Registered Dietitian.

Heather Emmons
Graduate Assistant
Email: haemmons@uncg.edu

Basheerah Enahora, Ph.D., M.B.A., RDN, LDN

Brief Bio

Basheerah Enahora is a Registered Dietitian, Adjunct Professor in Nutrition at Johnson C Smith University, and a Ph.D. candidate in Nutrition at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Her clinical and academic training and research experience have provided her with skills in providing medical nutrition therapy and designing nutrition and public health interventions.

Recently, she has been an integral part of the McGuirt Research Lab at UNCG conducting studies on using digital technologies to improve dietary intake and health behavior. Specific projects include developing a pilot of an online virtual reality avatar-led nutrition program for low-income children and a US Army Department of Defense-funded project testing geo-targeted mobile phone messaging to increase healthier food purchases among service members.

She is particularly interested in developing interventions to reduce childhood obesity among low-income, minority populations.

She continues to work clinically in private practice while pursuing her doctoral degree and has co-authored two peer-reviewed publications.

Mahoganey Frazier  
Dietetic Intern 
Email: mhfrazier@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Mahoganey earned her bachelor’s degree at UNCG and is currently in the MS/DI program. She hopes to pursue a career in dietetics as she has a passion for nutrition. 

Bruna Gutierrez dos Santos
Graduate Assistant
Email: b_gutier@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Bruna received her B.S. degree in Nutrition from Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo. She is pursuing her Ph.D. degree working with Dr. Maryanne Perrin.

Kristen Hagarty-Waite, M.S., RDN, LDN, CNSC
Graduate Assistant
Email: kahagarty@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Kristen received her Bachelor of Science from Appalachian State University and her Master of Science from East Carolina University. She is a Registered Dietitian and holds a specialty certification in Nutrition Support from the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. In the Erikson lab, she is currently working on investigating the impact of diet induced obesity on the regulation of trace element metabolism and associated sex and strain differences in the mouse model. Her research interests include trace element metabolism in neurodegenerative diseases and factors that impact trace element metabolism in the brain.

Coleman Murray Hale, Ph.D., RDN, LDN

Brief Bio

Coleman earned her Ph.D. in Nutrition in December 2021 from UNCG.  Her doctoral research focused on adolescent hypertension and social determinants of health.

She aims to continue investigating how medical providers tailor their recommendations to patients, particularly as they relate to lifestyle behaviors and the integration of social determinants of health, in the prevention and treatment of elevated blood pressure and hypertension among adolescents.

Her long-term goal is to develop future lifestyle interventions to better meet the needs of patients and their families that experience limitations due to social determinants of health.  She is also interested in increasing awareness of the many beneficial roles RDNs play on patient care teams in the healthcare setting.

Dr. Hale earned her M.S. in Nutrition from UNCG in May 2017 and has been a registered and licensed dietitian in North Carolina since 2017.

Prior to this, she taught chemistry for three years at a Title 1 high school in High Point, NC.

Breia Hardy
Email: brhardy@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Breia received her Bachelor of Science with a major in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a student pursuing her Master of Science degree in Nutrition. She currently works at a living and rehabilitation center gaining more hands-on experience and in her free time she loves to spend time with her friends and family. Her hopes for the future are to complete the Dietetic Internship and work as a Registered Dietitian.

Marlen Hernandez
Graduate Assistant
Email: mmherna2@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Marlen received her BS degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from UNCG. She is now working on her MS degree while working with Dr. Jigna Dharod on the Infant Feeding and Nutrition study, looking at a variety of factors influencing infant feeding practices.

Mali Hosseinzadeh
Graduate Research Assistant
Email: mphossei@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Mali is a student in the M.S. Nutrition program and has been working with Dr. Shriver on the iGrow project since January 2021. This longitudinal study is evaluating the relationship between mothers and infants to learn about biological and social factors that influence healthy growth and development. Mali is particularly interested in parenting and feeding behaviors that develop in early life. In addition to the MS and iGrow project, she is completing the dietetics program to become a Registered Dietitian. In the future, Mali plans to continue pursuing her research interest as an RD.

Imari Howell
Dietetic Intern 
Email: i_howell@uncg.edu

Brief Bio

Imari is a dietetic intern at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, passionate about clinical and pediatric nutrition. She enjoys expanding her knowledge, exploring new topics in science, and advocating for evidence-based practice. Working in the hospital setting brings her fulfillment, especially when seeing patients improve.